There are thousands of inspirational stories every day in this country, stories of decent people reaching out to those around them and offering to help in ways too many to count.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and when we see the exception rather than the rule, it becomes news, and therefore material for opinion pages. Such is the case of the homeless Guatemalan immigrant who lay face down, unmoving, bleeding on a New York City sidewalk while people walked by, stopped to gawk, or even moved him around.

No one called for help. No one dared to reach out a helping hand. And so this man died of stab wounds he suffered while trying to help a woman being attacked by her companion. How sadly ironic that he tried to help someone, was stabbed for his efforts, and then left to die on the sidewalk of a huge city.

Video footage from nearby surveillance cameras shows at least seven people walked by Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, but not one stopped to help. No one pulled out a cell phone and called 911. No one even checked to see if he was alive.

It is unfortunately true that in big cities, some as close as Birmingham, it is not uncommon to see the homeless sleeping on the street. But they are usually huddled in doorways trying to keep warm and out of the human traffic that clatters on by. And they are usually not bleeding.

It is important to note that someone did call, but with the wrong address. Finally, a call came in with the right address and police and firefighters were on the scene in just a few minutes. But the man had been stabbed at least an hour before that.

There is no way to know if immediate assistance would have saved his life. Perhaps the wounds would have proved fatal regardless of how soon help arrived. But if he was bleeding, and all indications are that he was, then his heart was beating. And perhaps he could have been saved.

We are taught not to make judgments without the facts, and there are many facts missing in this story. But what we do know is clear.

A man who tried to help someone else was stabbed and left to die on the street. At least seven people walked by him, with not one appearing to be concerned enough to offer help in any way.

That is a sad commentary on the hardened hearts of those people walking by.